Gasoline prices keep climbing, except at this one gas station in California. This Shell station made a mistake when inputting the gas price, from $6.99 to $0.69, and the rest is history, if you will. How did residents celebrate filling gas tanks at such a low price? By calling friends and family to join in. AAA says that gas prices broke $5 a gallon nationwide over the weekend, and there’s no end in sight.

Gas prices in California are at $6.43 per gallon right now

According to CBS Sacramento, customers called this mistake a “gas station gift.” Patrons at this Rancho Cordova Shell station went to fill up at the great price of $6.99 a gallon. For California residents, this price has been the norm lately. Depending on where you live, that still might seem high.

When Darryl Surita went to fill up his gas tank and saw the gas price of $.0699, Surita shared the information as quickly as possible. Word got out pretty quickly between Instagram, Facebook, and other social media outlets. Surita said he started calling family and friends to get over there and fill up while the price was low. The lucky shopper found a friend with a gas tank and went to town.

“I looked at the numbers and it was 69 cents a gallon. So you know what I did, I hit that button and it started pumping and the dollar sign just stayed low,” he told CBS Sacramento.

AAA says gasoline prices broke more records this weekend

According to the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, an office of the U.S. Department of Energy, the last time prices for gas were around $0.69; the year was 1978. Gasoline prices jumped to approximately $0.86 in 1979 and over $1.19 in 1980. The average gas price fell back in the mid-1980s and has only increased since then.

AAA says that the average gas price as of this morning is $5.014 a gallon, with some of the highest prices on the West coast. That includes California, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Arizona. Illinois, Indiana, and Washington DC are also in the highest gas price brackets.

The average price of gas in California right now is $6.436, which is the highest in the nation right now. It is no surprise residents in Rancho Cordova were excited to see prices under $1. In Alpine, California, near San Diego, the gas prices reached an astonishing $7.799 a gallon. Perhaps it’s time to try out hypermiling to get more out of a tank of gas.

Fuel prices are expected to get worse before getting better

Due to the high costs of gasoline, AAA says it has seen a significant increase in calls from motorists. Due to empty fuel tanks, many people are calling on AAA roadside assistance. The company notes it has seen a rise of 60% in some areas of the country for calls related to running out of fuel.

Demand for gas is also high due to summer vacations and road trips, which hasn’t helped the situation at all. Prices in California are even higher due to high demand and disruptions in the gasoline supply chain. Oil refineries in the area have shut down periodically due to COVID-19-related issues. For now, gasoline prices are expected to get worse before coming down.